Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
What is Frozen Shoulder?
Frozen shoulder is stiffness, pain, and limited range of motion in the shoulder. The condition usually comes on slowly but can progress to complete immobility of the shoulder accompanied by severe pain.
What Causes Frozen Shoulder?
Frozen shoulder can be triggered by an injury that inhibits use of the joint, due to pain. A sedentary lifestyle and chronic disease, such as arthritis or diabetes, can also be factors.
Frozen Shoulder Usually Occurs:
• After surgery or injury.
• Most often in people 40 to 70 years old.
• More often in women (especially in
postmenopausal women) than in men.
• Most often in people with chronic diseases.
If you suffer from severe pain in the shoulder and/or the inability to complete once easily performed tasks, such as putting dishes in the cupboard, I have good news for you. Acupuncture can alleviate the pain you are experiencing so you can get back to the activities that you enjoy. Pain relief begins within minutes of the start of treatment.
How Does Acupuncture Help?
Even if you have tried acupuncture before and did not get the results you wanted, I encourage you to try it again. Zang-Fu diagnosis is the type of diagnosis that is taught in American acupuncture schools. Most acupuncturists utilize this diagnostic method to diagnose and treat their patients. Some patients improve completely, some get a significant reduction in pain, and others get only a small amount of pain relief with this approach. This type of diagnosis strategy works great for Chinese Herbs, but for acupuncture the results are inconsistent.
Until recently, this was the type of acupuncture diagnosis that I used in my practice. I was frustrated because the outcome between patients was not consistent. I am happy to report that I have learned a new type of diagnosis and treatment strategy that is getting fantastic results when it comes to pain relief. Most patients get significant reduction of pain within minutes of the insertion of the acupuncture needles.
This diagnosis method is called meridian theory. Meridian diagnosis and treatment is the most effective acupuncture method. It is not taught in the acupuncture schools, however, so most acupuncturists do not use this method. That is why I encourage you to try acupuncture again if you didn’t get relief the first time and if you are still experiencing shoulder pain.
What Kind Of Acupuncture Is Used?
I use the mirroring and imaging formats to select the appropriate points. To treat the shoulder, I will put the acupuncture needles into the opposite ankle. I use acupressure to identify tender or sensitive areas on the corresponding areas of your opposite shin, lower leg, foot and ankle. The tender areas are where I put the needles. This approach makes each treatment unique, it is rare that exactly the same points are used from treatment to treatment.
The needles are stimulated periodically over the course of about 45 minutes. Soft lighting and music plays so you become very relaxed during the course of the treatment. Depending on the exact circumstances of your pain, stretching, massage, moxibustion or electro-acupuncture may be used in addition to the acupuncture. Instructions about home self-treatment will be given as well.
Treatment results vary depending on the length of time the pain has been present, your overall health, and your ability to rest the shoulder between treatments. Most patients see a dramatic reduction during the very first treatment. If the pain is chronic and if you continue to overuse the arm between treatments, then progress is usually a bit slower. I recommend 6-12 treatments total in most cases. Results are the best if you can come 3 times per week for the first two weeks, then as needed for maintenance. If you make an effort to rest the arm and perform the suggested home treatment, results can be fast and long lasting so you can resume your pursuit of the activities you enjoy.
Don’t live one more day with shoulder pain. Get relief today. Call (941) 629-2355 to schedule an acupuncture treatment today!
